How to Plan a WordPress Content Calendar: Blogging with Purpose & Consistency

Starting a blog is exciting – but let’s be honest, staying consistent with updating my blog has been challenging. Every time I sit down to write a new blog post, I encounter the same issue. I stare at a blank screen with no clue what my next blog post should be about. Sound familiar? If you’re a new blogger, or even an established blogger, and if you’ve ever struggled with what to write, when to post, or how to keep your blog flowing with fresh content, you’re not alone.

That’s where a content calendar becomes a useful tool for organising and managing the writing and publication of your blog posts.

A WordPress content calendar not only serves to organise blog post ideas, but also to promote purposeful and strategic blogging. Whether you’re building a personal brand, growing an online business, or simply sharing your journey, a content calendar helps you stay focused, consistent, and aligned with your goals.

In this post, we’re going to break down exactly how to create a simple but powerful content calendar for your WordPress blog.

I’ll help you with brainstorming blog ideas, deciding on content themes, and scheduling posts that reflect your message and mission. By the end, you’ll have a system to keep your blog organised, purposeful, and growing—without the stress.

What is a WordPress Content Calendar?

A WordPress content calendar, also known as an editorial calendar, is a written schedule that outlines when you plan to publish upcoming content on your blog. A content calendar can help you in three ways:

Maintain consistent content production: Strategically plan and schedule your content in advance to ensure regular delivery for your audience.
Saves time and reduces stress: When you’re writing a piece for your blog, you won’t have to waste time wondering what you should write about, and it helps you to stay focused on your writing so you can meet deadlines.
It helps you stay organised: A content calendar makes it easy to produce high-quality content and to keep your content production on track.

Step 1: Set Your Blogging Goals

Before you can even think about content ideas or calendars, you should first consider what your goals are for your blog. This is one of the things I overlooked when I first started my blog, which is why I am struggling to come up with blog ideas today. But you don’t have to make the same mistake I made.

So, ask yourself: What do you want from your blog? Here are some blogging goals you may consider:

To share knowledge and help others (e.g. career advice, money-saving tips, personal growth)
To create a second income stream (through affiliate links, digital products, or ad revenue)
To promote a cause or mission (maybe your faith, social justice, or giving back)
To express yourself creatively (storytelling, poetry, journaling)

My reason for starting a blog was to express myself creatively. I wanted to share my short stories and poetry with others, and to share my knowledge to help others. So, start thinking about what your goals are for your blog. It may be one of the reasons above, or it could be a combination. Just make sure you’re clear on what your goals are. A content calendar only works when it’s built around what truly matters to you.

Once you have set your goals for your blog, it’s time to take action. Your goals need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Here is an example:

“My goal is to publish four blog posts per month to help young people get out of debt and improve their finances, to grow my email list by 50 subscribers in 3 months.”

This is a focused, achievable goal – and from it you can create your content calendar.

As your blog grows, your goals might change. That’s a good thing—it means your blog is progressing. Make time every few months to review what’s working and adjust your calendar to reflect new ideas or priorities.

Step 2: Choose Your Core Content Themes

You want to make sure that your content gets seen by the right audience. Your content should be informative, entertaining, and relevant to your target audience. This is why you need to create content themes.

Content themes are the core topics relevant to your blog and to promote products or services you may have on offer. The aim of using content themes is to cover key topics in-depth to demonstrate your expertise. They’re the 3 to 5 main topics you’ll consistently write about—the themes that tie everything together and reflect your blog’s purpose, values, and goals.

You don’t need to cover everything under the sun. The key is to focus on what you enjoy writing about, and that helps your audience.

Start with 3 to 5 core themes. That’s enough to give variety without overwhelming you or your readers.

Here is an example of how this would look:

Week	Content Theme	Blog Topic Idea
1	Lifestyle	“7 Time-Saving Hacks for Working Mums”
2	Fashion	“What to Wear to a Job Interview in the Summer”
3	Beauty	“10 Simple Ways to Look Prettier”
4	Self-Improvement	“12 Self-Improvement Activities that Only Take 30 Minutes”

This structure keeps you consistent and intentional.

Once you’ve chosen your content themes, set them up as Categories in WordPress.

Create Categories in your WordPress blog in 3 easy steps:

Go to the WordPress post that you want to add the new category to. In the Edit Post screen, click on Post on the top right side of the screen.
Scroll down until you see the heading Categories. Click on the blue link Add Category.
In the text box under New Category Name, enter a name. Leave Parent Category blank and click the Add Category button. You’ll now be able to choose this category from the list in the options menu on future posts.

Read the article Add Categories & Subcategories in WordPress to learn more.

Step 3: Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas

Now that you have chosen your content theme, it’s time to fill it with ideas that keep your blog fresh, helpful, and engaging. In this step, use your creativity and have fun coming up with new ideas.

But don’t give yourself stress trying to come up with 100 ideas overnight.

The goal is to create a collection of post ideas that you can refer to anytime you’re planning your content calendar. It’s like gathering ingredients before you start cooking. Once it’s done, everything flows more smoothly.

Here are some examples:

Lifestyle

“7 Time-Saving Hacks for Working Mums”
“How to Stay Organized when Handling Multiple Tasks at Work”

Fashion

“What to Wear to a Job Interview in the Summer”
“How to Mix and Match Clothes You Already Have”

Beauty

“10 Simple Ways to Look Prettier”
“7 Makeup Tips for Black Women”

Self-Improvement

“12 Self-Improvement Activities that Only Take 30 Minutes”
“10 Ways to Constantly Improve Yourself in 2025”

Once you have made a collection of your content themes and blog post ideas, make sure that you store them in a safe place where you can easily find them. You can create a folder on your desktop and save them as Word documents, keep a running list in a Google Doc, or use the WordPress Drafts section to quickly write down working blog titles.

Step 4: Plan Your Content Monthly or Quarterly

First, decide on your posting frequency. Can you commit to posting once a week, twice a month, or once a month? Keep in mind that quality matters more than quantity. It’s better to post consistently—even if it’s just once a month—than to burn out trying to do too much.

Secondly, rotate your content themes. Use your themes to give your calendar structure and variety. For example:

Week	Content Theme	Blog Post Idea
1	Lifestyle	“7 Time-Saving Hacks for Working Mums”
2	Fashion	“What to Wear to a Job Interview in the Summer”
3	Beauty	“10 Simple Ways to Look Prettier”
4	Self-Improvement	“12 Self-Improvement Activities that Only Take 30 Minutes”

This method keeps your blog balanced and ensures each area of your message gets some attention.

Align your blog posts with the seasons.

Certain blog posts do better during specific times of the year. Think:

January: Goal-setting
Spring: Growth and renewal
Summer: Simplifying and rest
Autumn: Productivity and planning
December: Reflection and gratitude

Leave a week or two open each quarter for spontaneous posts, news, or breaks.

Step 5: Use the Right Tools

You have set up your blog goals, chosen your content themes, and brainstormed loads of blog post ideas – now it’s time to bring everything together using the right tools.

The good news is that you don’t need to have any technical skills or spend loads of money to stay organised. Whether you prefer digital tools or old-school pen and paper (like me!) there’s a solution that can help you plan, schedule, and manage your WordPress blog content with ease.

WordPress Editorial Calendar Plugin

Drag-and-drop visual calendar
Schedule posts within your WordPress dashboard

Trello

Great for visual planning
Create boards for “Ideas”, “In Progress”, and “Published”.

Notion

Combines content planning, writing, and task tracking in one space.
Fully customizable.

Google Sheets or Excel

Simple and effective for tracking post titles, dates, and status.

Printable Planner

Perfect if you love pen and paper.
Ideal for monthly overviews and jotting down inspiration on the go.

No matter which tool you choose, make sure it helps you track:

Post title
Content pillar/category
Publish date
Status (Idea, Draft, Scheduled, Published)

And don’t forget: WordPress lets you schedule blog posts in advance, which is a lifesaver when life gets busy!

Step 6: Stay Flexible but Stay Committed

Now that you’ve planned your blog goals, organised your content pillars, brainstormed ideas, and chosen your favourite tools… here comes the real-life part:

Things won’t always go according to plan. And that’s okay.

Life happens. You’ll have weeks when you’re full of ideas and energy—and others where you’re just trying to keep your head above water. One of the most powerful things you can do as a blogger is give yourself permission to be flexible, while still holding space for your commitment.

Even if you miss a post, you can always bounce back. Here’s how to keep going:

Batch write when you have energy
Repurpose content (turn a post into a video, email, or carousel)
Reuse evergreen posts by updating or resharing
Celebrate small wins (every post counts!)

And above all—keep your “why” close. Whether it’s to serve others, build a legacy, or create a new income stream, your blog matters. Your words matter. Your story matters.

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